The present invention relates generally to inductive charging interfaces, and in particular inductive charging interfaces for mobile devices.
Many electronic devices mate with electrical connectors that provide power. For example, devices, such as tablets, laptops, netbooks, desktops, and all-in-one computers; cell, smart, and media phones; storage devices, portable media players, navigation systems, monitors, and others, can be mated with electrical connectors in order to charge their internal batteries.
Wired charging via electrical connectors (e.g., plug and receptacle connectors) is commonly used but wireless charging, and specifically inductive charging, is becoming increasingly common. However, while inductive charging is sometimes more convenient than wired charging, inductive charging historically has been very inefficient due to high energy losses, e.g., due to leakage flux, non-ideal magnetic paths, etc. These losses result in wasted resources as well as longer charge times as compared with wired charging.
Furthermore, in order to inductively charge electronic devices, large receiving coils are currently implemented within electronic devices. These receiving coils consume a significant amount of scarce space within increasingly compact electronic devices. A corresponding transmission coil is typically located within a charging pad to inductively charge these electronic devices when placed on the pad.
As electronic devices continue to consumer more power, there is an increasing demand for convenient, power-efficient and space-efficient methods of charging these electronic devices.